Ambrosia
by MangaAnimeLover
Summary: It all began when a mission went wrong, and things started to change around them. It meant the end of everything she knew, and the beginning of something he never knew he wanted. And it had never been more delicious. But even love has a prize... KakaSaku / Kakashi X Sakura [Rated M for sexual content!]


_**Summary:** It all began when a mission went wrong, and things started to change around them. It meant the end of everything she knew, and the beginning of something he never knew he wanted. And it had never been more delicious. But even love has a prize..._

_**Alternate summary:** A mission gone wrong. A glance lingering too long. One sentence that should've never been said. A forbidden kiss... Kakashi had never expected that going back to ANBU would bring him this close to a certain pink-haired medic._

_**Pairing:** Haruno Sakura X Hatake Kakashi from Naruto. (Sakura is 18 years old and thus an adult in this story)._

_**Rating:** M for swearing, violence/blood, and sexual themes. (16+)_

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**Ambrosia:**

- The food of the Gods.

- Something delightful to taste or smell.

- A flower that is beautiful and dangerous.

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**Chapter 1: Fever**

"Have you filed the new journals yet?"

Sakura tensed. She had sworn to herself that if she heard that sentence one more time that day, she was going to rip the pretty head off whomever had asked her. But as Ino rounded the corner with a tray with two cups of steaming coffee and something that looked like chocolate, Sakura decided she would extend her limit a bit more.

"Almost done," the pink-haired medic mumbled and shoved the folders with patient journals aside on the table in front of her. Ino took place and placed the tray in front of the other medic, who was delighted to see that those small packages were chocolates indeed.

"So, are you having fun this late evening?" Ino asked with no genuine interest as she opened a chocolate and let it melt on her tongue. Sakura chuckled wearily.

"When do I _ever_ have fun on late Tuesday evenings? You know I'm not really a desk person," she said with a shrug and took a sip of her coffee.

"Who is, really?" Ino replied offhandedly. Sakura could think of several people who were better off behind a desk than in the field, but she knew the question was rhetorical. She shrugged.

"As long as it's only one day a week, I think I'll survive," she muttered against the edge of the cup. The porcelain felt hot against her lower lip and she savoured the feeling of comfort, closing her eyes briefly to enjoy her break from work.

"Anyway," Ino began, waving her hand dismissively. "Are you coming Friday?" The renewed excitement in her voice told Sakura that this was something Ino was looking forward to. Not that it surprised her, really. Her blonde friend had always focused more on the social part of her life rather than her ninja life. To her, parties and boys were the real deal.

Sakura raised a brow lazily and turned her head to the young woman at her side, looking entirely uninterested.

"What happens Friday?"

"Forehead! Always so socially _dense_," Ino cried loudly and had to put the coffee down to avoid spilling over herself. "You know Genma's throwing a party. I told you last week. He's turning thirty, remember?"

"Ah," Sakura mumbled, obviously less than half as excited as her friend. "I'm not sure, Ino."

"You better be there," Ino threatened with narrowed blue eyes and a firmly pointing finger. "Anyway, I bought this gorgeous violet dress. It fits as if painted onto my body. The boys are going to drown in their own saliva, I tell you. And just wait until you see-..."

As horrible as it was true, Sakura was more interested in the chocolate in front of her than any party thrown by someone she did not really know anyway. But just as she was about to reach out for said chocolate, the last one, Ino snatched it without thought and tossed it into her still talking mouth.

Now, Sakura's remaining night shift seemed never-ending.

"Hey, Forehead! Are you even listening?" Ino complained loudly. Sakura snapped out of her thoughtless state and looked at her friend with a faint smile.

"Of course," she lied. Ino knew the pink-haired too well to be fooled, however.

"This is why you haven't had a real boyfriend yet," Ino spoke arrogantly and sighed. Sakura was just about to ask the blonde to save the personal scoldings for later, for when they were not located in the hallway office in the hospital. She barely managed to part her lips and allow the words to come out before she heard her name echoing loudly throughout the hallways.

It was Shizune's voice, and both girls reacted upon it by standing up. The raven-haired woman came running around the corner and skidded to a halt.

"Sakura. Healing. Room H-fourty-six. _Now_." And then she turned around and ran again.

Sakura downed the contents of her cup in one gulp and followed the second-in-command, ignoring the burning heat on her tongue and in her throat. She could always deal with it later.

"Thanks for the coffee, Pig" Sakura said hastily just before rounding the corner, a quickly lifted hand signaling goodbye as she disappeared from Ino's view.

"See you Friday. Don't forget!" came the blonde's voice back.

Room H-46 was unusually crowded, Sakura concluded as she arrived. She had to push her way through curious nurses and a couple of ANBU members to get inside. Wondering, she needed only one quick look at the patient to know why. Her heart seemed to stop, just for a second.

Hatake Kakashi.

Sakura didn't believe she had ever jumped into a medical apron and the other required garments this fast. Barely had she slipped the rubber gloves on before she stood by the operating table, assessing her too-familiar patient with her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Kakashi was still wearing his ANBU mask as he lay there on the table, unnaturally still. One with a familiar cat design. Sakura had recognized him solely because of this mask, and the spikes of silver-coloured hair emerging from behind it.

Kakashi's torso was stripped bare, seeing as the wound was right above his heart.

It was a deep stab wound. Only a few centimetres from what Sakura guessed had been the weapon's real target. Based on Kakashi's troubled breathing, she figured that his lung was punctured, too. Surrounding the vigorously bleeding wound was bare grey-coloured skin glinting with beads of feverish sweat. The wound was infected already.

Tsunade, who was usually in charge during fatal surgeries, made her way to the table, her face also showing concern.

"Akera, I'll need you to heal his punctured lung and exit wound. Sakura, you'll have to remove the toxin from his system. I'll press and heal the entry would," Tsunade instructed loudly.

It was possible for two persons to work on one wound at the same time, but three was unrealistic. Too many hands on a too small area of skin. So Sakura formed a scalpel blade of chakra and sliced Kakashi's skin open just beneath his solar plexus, starting the process of cleansing his blood from the traces of poison which had been infused together with whatever had pierced his chest entirely. The cut she made was small, clean, and shallow. It would not leave a scar. Not that Sakura thought he would mind one more scar to his impressive collection, anyway.

Removing poison was a slow and delicate process that required complete focus. Most poison types were impossible to see or smell when it had entered the blood system, but with some experience and accuracy it could be detected with chakra. Sakura had years of experience in this field. Ever since her fight with Sasori of the Akatsuki, poisons and toxins had been a personal interest of hers.

Time passed by. The number of people watching the surgery decreased. The majority of those were most likely curious nurses fascinated by the rare visit of an ANBU squad, Sakura figured. Most ANBU squads were assigned a medic of intermediate or high level, so it was not often that they needed help from the hospital. That, and the fact that most ninja of ANBU status simply knew how to avoid greater injuries. But it did happen that some ANBU member dropped by from time to time, when their mission had gone awry, or they had faced an ambush in a safety zone.

Sakura wondered what had happened to Kakashi's ANBU squad. She did not know anyone on his team, but she assumed their medic was fairly good, seeing as this was the first time Kakashi was admitted to the hospital after an ANBU mission. And although Kakashi was a skilled ninja, he tended to be reckless enough to get wounded in combat. It was not that he wasn't skilled; he was simply not afraid of pain. As far as she knew, he gladly took a kunai to the shoulder if it meant a better opportunity for a final attack. Maybe this time it had just gone wrong.

It took some time, but finally Sakura could see the end of it. There had not been much poison on the blade that had struck him, but it was very concentrated and had to be removed entirely. The small plastic container on the table at her side was full of water into which she had fused the poison during its removal. The water was now tainted red from the traces of blood. On the surface of the water floated a dark substance glinting purple in the glow of the many lamps. Sakura didn't recognize it and decided to save a sample for testing. It never hurt to know more than necessary.

"Mei, please dispose of the water, but save a toxin sample," Sakura ordered one of the medical students still lingering in the room. As the container was removed, Sakura changed gloves and started mending the small wound which she had made.

Now, after more than an hour of work, only a few people remained in the room. Sakura noticed the two ANBU members standing by the wall, observing the surgery without moving at all. It was impressive to find such patience in people who did not work as healers or doctors. She figured it was a matter of respect. But whether it was for the Hokage or for their injured teammate, Sakura did not know. Perhaps it was both.

Looking at Kakashi's still covered face, Sakura felt somewhat uncomfortable. She did not like the rule about ANBU masks. It was illegal to remove such mask in public. The identities of ANBU members were to be kept a secret, also preferably to your own squad. That was logic to Sakura, but she honestly did not see why it was still required during a surgery. Heck, the man had trouble breathing even without the mask. It was not as severe now that Akera had healed his lung, however, but Sakura still caught the slight wheeze beneath the porcelain.

As if Tsunade had read Sakura's thoughts, she nodded in approval, and Sakura was relieved to find that she was allowed to take off his mask.

"We will have to remove it in a moment, anyway," Tsunade said and changed gloves.

Sakura carefully undid the bindings and lifted off Kakashi's porcelain mask, unsurprised to find the man wearing his usual black mesh mask underneath. Again, no wonder the man had had trouble breathing.

At some point, she was disappointed that his face was not bare, but she really had not thought about it until now. On the other hand, she wouldn't have known what to do if he had actually been unmasked. She was not sure if she could ever ignore what had been seen in case it had been a horrible or unnerving sight.

Assessing the man's face, Sakura felt relieved. Beads of sweat were trickling down his temples, but his skin held a slightly healthier tone to it. It was a good sign. It had been easier if she had been able to see his lips, though. Discoloured lips meant that there were still toxin or infection in his body. For now she just had to rely on her instinct which told her that it was taken care of.

"There," Tsunade breathed finally, peeling off another pair of rubber gloves. "That's all we can do for now. Now he just needs to rest and recover naturally."

Straightening her back tiredly, Sakura started to shed the disposable uniform she was wearing. The two other women and the remaining trainees and nurses did the same, and the slightly bloody uniforms were thrown into the trash bin by the wall.

"Shizune!" the Hokage suddenly called out through the door. As if having waited right outside – which she probably had, Sakura mused inwardly – Shizune entered the room.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Make sure Kakashi is brought to the second floor. Find him a private room with a respirator and a heart monitor. We need to keep him on close watch during the night, just in case."

Sakura knew that a heart or near-heart surgery was a complicated process, and so was the healing afterward. It took so little for the heart to stop beating. Any trace of poison or infection could cause a cardiac arrest overnight. And unless he was connected to a heart monitor or watched constantly, it would be too late in the morning. A heart failure was a silent killer.

Shizune nodded in agreement and summoned two trainees to assist her as she covered Kakashi's naked chest with a clinical shirt, moved him to a transportable bed, and started to bring him upstairs.

Sakura grabbed Kakashi's ANBU mask on the table and decided that she would pay him a visit when he was awake.

Sighing in exhaustion, she followed her shisui out into the hallway together with the two still silent ANBU members.

"Chakirou," Tsunade said and caught the attention of a older nurse passing by. "How is Bouji?" The women stopped and smiled faintly, her eyes looking just as tired as the Hokage's.

"They were just surface wounds and a few flesh wounds. Nothing fatal. He's in recovery right now on the third floor."

"Good. I'll have a talk with him tomorrow," the Hokage said and nodded, then turned to the two ANBU members. "You two are dismissed. Come to my office tomorrow morning at nine. I'll need a mission report."

The two ANBU bowed deeply and disappeared faster than any normal eye could comprehend, especially Sakura's tired eyes. Sighing, Sakura let a hand brush through her pink locks. She needed a shower. And sleep.

With a smile, Tsunade turned to her youngest pupil, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Good job, Sakura. Your expertise in poison is very valuable to Konoha Hospital," the Hokage said, to which Sakura nodded gratefully. "You are dismissed for today as well. Go home and rest. I'll need you tomorrow."

But just as Sakura was about to turn left in the hallway, headed for the locker room, she was stopped again.

"By the way, did you finish filing those reports?"

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It was no secret that Haruno Sakura was a workaholic. It wasn't that she worked so hard that she would almost faint from the pressure every night, nor did she live in the hospital. But she spent most of her awake hours working, either at the hospital, on missions, or at home with medical paperwork. This was most likely the reason why Ino called her asocial and boring, despite the fact that Sakura spent almost all of her time around people with whom she would converse. Apparently, to Ino, being social meant to flirt or spend "quality time" with a man. If that had been the official definition of social, then yes, Sakura was almost one hundred percent asocial.

_At least I've become a respected medic_, Sakura defended inwardly as she entered the women's locker room. It was only six in the morning, and the pink-haired kunoichi had slept only a few hours. The thought of Kakashi lying in the hospital somehow disturbed her inner peace. So even though she was scheduled to meet at eight, Sakura had decided to show up earlier and make sure Kakashi was feeling okay.

The locker room was entirely unoccupied, Sakura realized when she looked around. Not that it surprised her, really. Unless you had a night shift, you wouldn't be at work until eight o'clock. And those who had night shifts were not allowed to shower, change clothes and leave until the day shift arrived.

Humming silently too keep herself awake, Sakura opened her locker and changed into her nurse's outfit, which was her standard uniform. She buttoned the white dress and slipped on her work shoes, her motions looking nearly robotic. Almost four years of working at the hospital did that to you.

She passed a few tired-looking nurses in the hallways as she made her way to the reception to check in. The two extra hours did not give much pay-wise, but Sakura obviously wasn't doing it for the pay.

"Good morning, Sakura," a young girl with orange hair greeted her as she approached the counter.

"Moning, Sahara," Sakura said with a smile, placing a wooden brick with her name on onto the counter for Sahara to register into the system. Sahara took the brick and slid in into the check-in rack on the wall so that the Hokage could see who was on work.

"Any news about Hatake Kakashi on the second floor?" Sakura continued, jumping straight to the case. Sahara quickly sorted through a stack of journals on the counter – the newer ones that hadn't been filed yet – and picked out a folder with Kakashi's name on, handing it to Sakura. The first page in the folder displayed the recent changes and other news. Sakura frowned lightly, unsurprised by what she had just read.

"A fever," Sahara confirmed. "We have given him some painkillers and a lot of water. His temperature should be close to normal by midday."

Nodding thoughtfully, Sakura put the journal down and headed for the stairs.

"You don't want some coffee first?" Sahara asked, but Sakura merely waved her hand dismissively.

"No thanks. Maybe later," the pink-haired medic said as she started to climb the stairs. Sahara shrugged and put Kakashi's journal back into the stack by her side, leaving the filing work for whomever the Hokage ordered to finish it.

Sakura quickly found room 2-16 to which Kakashi had been moved right after the surgery. Normally, she wouldn't interrupt a sleeping patient, especially when she was not officially assigned to them at the time. But this was different; this was someone she actually cared about. And in the end, she was sure Kakashi didn't mind her company, even if he was still sleeping.

Gently pushing the door open to avoid waking the man, Sakura entered the room and was relieved to find the early morning sun rays illuminating the room just enough for her to see without having to turn on the too bright loft lamp.

Kakashi was still asleep, Sakura confirmed as she approached the bed. According to the heart monitor his pulse was a bit faster than normal, which was due to the fever. Beads of sweat dotted his still slightly pale skin, a few drops travelling down along the bridge of his nose and temples. Sakura found a piece of cloth with which she gently dried Kakashi's face. Then she placed a hand on his forehead. She didn't need a thermometer to read his temperature; four years of experience allowed her to determine body temperatures within the accuracy of just above half a degree. Kakashi's temperature was quite high, but not fatal. His body was already working off the fever, slowly but steadily.

She needed to check up on his wound. The fever was caused by a small infection. Apparently his wound had not been cleaned entirely during the surgery – not that it was a great mistake, seeing as it was quite normal not to be able to remove it all. The host body did most of the after-work anyway. But when it was this close to the heart, even a microscopic amount of infection could still cause an effect.

Sakura praised herself lucky that Kakashi was still wearing his mesh mask. Seeing him without a shirt and without his mask would make him seem totally naked in her eyes. That situation was something she didn't want to deal with right now. Or ever.

Judging on the man's facial movements, he was only sleeping shallowly. Most fever patients did.

Moving to the other side of the bed, Sakura removed the blanket which had been kicked halfway off him already. The next part was the tricky part. It wasn't something she ever saw as a problem, seeing as she had done it hundreds of times before. But everything was different with this man.

She hesitated for only a brief moment, however, before leaning in over him to button open his shirt. She would not have to remove it entirely; she just needed free view to his chest.

As expected, Kakashi woke up by her movements, despite the fact that she was working cautiously. But a high level ninja sleeping shallowly was as easy to wake as... well, Sakura couldn't come up with anything meaningful, but the thought still humoured her slightly. Actually, it was a miracle that he hadn't woken up when she entered the room. The fever was probably dulling his senses this much.

Now that she came to think of it, she had never really seen Kakashi sick. There was that one time, some years ago, when he had been under Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi and had to stay in the hospital for weeks. But back then it hadn't been a physical illness that kept him in bed. This, however, was almost as strange as back then. She wasn't used to see him this weak.

"Sakura?" Kakashi breathed through his mask, his voice low and hoarse. His one open eye watched her as she opened his shirt and started examining his chest.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked gently with a smile of concern.

"Fine, just a bit tired," Kakashi mumbled and closed his eyes.

"Are the painkillers working?" Sakura continued in her medic voice, removing the bandages above his heart carefully to avoid ripping the wound open. The backside of the gauze dressing was stained red, and Sakura decided to change it while she was already working on him.

Kakashi just smiled ignorantly at her question. Then Sakura realized, by looking at the nightstand next to her, that he hadn't actually taken them. Two white pills lay in a small plastic tray beside an untouched glass of water. Frowning, Sakura turned her attention back to her former sensei.

"You know, they actually help you sleep," she said matter-of-factly and went to the counter by the wall to get new bandages.

It really didn't surprise her that Kakashi refused to take his medicine. For as long as she had known him, hospitals and everything connected to it had been something he had looked askance at. Even back in her Chuunin days, when she had announced that she was officially starting as Tsunade's apprentice, Kakashi had been slightly unenthusiastic about it. He had supported her decision, of course, but it had been clear that it wasn't something that made him drop his jaw in amazement – not until later, when she demonstrated the strength that came with medical abilities, that is.

When Sakura returned to the bed, Kakashi had fallen asleep again. She could not help but smile. This was a whole new side of him.

Studying his wound for a moment to determine whether or not the infection was small enough to overcome naturally, she nodded to herself and replaced the bandages. If it turned out that the infection was too great for his immune system to break down on its own anyway, she could always give him a shot of antibiotics to help his system. As for now, she believed in Sahara who had told her that Kakashi should be alright by midday.

As Sakura finished her work, a strange and unwelcome thought hit her:

_He is actually very handsome. Healthily lean but also perfectly muscular_. How come she had not noticed this before?

Perhaps she had always known, somewhere in the back of her mind. But it was highly inappropriate of her to admit such a thing about her former sensei, a man fourteen years older than herself.

And yet, she couldn't resist the urge to brush her fingers over his skin, and actually enjoy it. It was smooth to the touch, despite his many battle scars. For a moment, she closed her eyes and imagined how it would feel to have his bare chest pressed against her own.

_Whoah! Hold it right there, girl! s_he told herself, snapping out of her forbidden trail of thoughts. Shaking her head, she quickly finished buttoning his shirt and put the blanket back over his sleeping form. She checked the heart monitor one last time and made sure the saline drip was still running. Then she hurriedly left the room.

_I must be tired, too_, Sakura thought to herself with a sigh. Yes, she was definitely tired. And perhaps a bit lonesome as well.

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_Thank you for reading!_

_Reviews/comments would really make me happy! :)_

_Love, MAL._


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